7 Hours Later...

Dana Smith and I just finished our marathon of eating. Foodapalooza went off with only one hitch, and it turned out to be a blessing in disguise. The Belmont, god love them, does not offer Mac and Cheese until 4pm. Apparently it's like trying to order a Big Mac at McDonalds before 11:30am. So when we rolled in there today at 1pm we were turned away. The whole reason we got on this eating kick was when I was shocked that Dana never had the Belmont Mac and Cheese. We moved it to the end and it was all good, served as a nice little bookend to the whole ordeal. 

We traveled nearly 45 miles over 7 hours and ate an amazing amount of food. I can barely move. But I just wanted to thank Dana for co-founding and coming with me on this event. It will possibly be a reoccurring thing we do throughout the year, no more than 4 times. We will definitely do fewer places. I cannot move, but its amazing.

I will post my review after I have had time to digest the food and the awesomeness that was the first annual Foodapalooza 08 (09).

Don't Vampires Hate Crying Tiger Stakes?

Yes I am asian-ish and yes I love a good Thai food joint so all bias aside I truly do enjoy Pink Pepper. From what I recall they do have a 'B' rating in the window. Yes this is not good and would turn many people away from any establishment. But hell how often do you even remember the rating of a place you went to anyway. Do you know how easy it is to slip up and get a B? No? Neither do I, but I'm sure it's not that big of a deal. A 'C' on the other hand, that place better have the best thing I've ever eaten for me to even considering walking in let alone consuming. 

So Thai soup, specifically Tom Yum is my favorite. And to get even more specific Tom Yum Koong with Shrimp is the bee's knees. I love the stuff. The almost sour broth and the veggies mixed with some delicious shrimp is just perfect in my eyes. They also have just chicken or just veggies if you'd rather. The Tom Yum has a light tasting dish that really warms you up and can be filling once you eat everything in the pot. I always get the huge fire bowl thing you see below. Yes it is a lot of soup, great for sharing, but seriously isn't soup good for you or something? Something about the common cold and whatnot. I'm not a doctor I just play one on the weekends, so don't take my word for it. 

Now the Crying Tiger Stake. Yes Stake. Read the menu and you will laugh just as hard as I did. The Crying Tiger Steak is great. It is on the pricey side but I truly did not mind footing it once I had my first bite. Ordered medium rare and eaten with veggies and rice was the perfect combination. The spicy crushed tomato sauce on the side is amazing on the steak and anything else you dip into it. My mouth literally just started watering again thinking about it. 

Final Bite: Can they spell? No. Do they have good food? Yes, and the combination of all of it together, in my eyes is boarding on a perfect execution. But what do I know, I'm just Dr. Justin. 

Pink Pepper
1638 N La Brea Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90028
(323) 461-2462

Well You're Just a Stone's Throw Away, Aren't Ya?

MMMM pizza. Wait strike that because this is bordering on misrepresentation. MMMM pizza margarita. That's better. I am a huge fan of pizza margarita's or margarita pizza's. Which ever gets you to where you need to be I guess. And apparently that is the only pizza that LA can do correctly. Not exactly sure why but for some reason as long as the crust is paper thin and they can put weird CA fancy things on it they knock it out of the park. Strange.

The pepperoni is great, crust is super thin and breaks when you fold it. The other toppings also live up to their crispy crust counter part. 

Now here is something that you won't usually find me saying. I like the following pizza. I am not often a huge fan of the fancy things California does to its food. Example: putting strawberries and feta cheese in a salad. Even though I do enjoy it, the concept still weirds me out, must be an East coast thing. But for some reason the No Name pizza is freaking awesome. The mixture of the ingredients together placed on top of the paper thin crust works perfectly. And I hate sausage. My only problem is that the pizza is super rich. It's like eating a triple chocolate cookie and having no milk to wash it down. Other than that, nice job Stone fire. Hell you didn't even do anything wrong I'm just ridiculous. 

Final Bite: Stone Fire Pizza has a great happy hour special and is great if you want a pizza margarita. If you do not like margarita pizzas why the hell are you at Stone Fire then? Go across the street to Vito's and get a slice there, jeez. 

Stone Fire Pizza

829 N La Cienega Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90069
(310) 659-8848

What's Jack Know That Jill Doesn't?

Jack and Jill went up a hill and disappointment is what begot them. I have officially decided to stop listening to people after they suggest a place. Mind you by listen to them I mean eaves drop while they discuss an eatery. As I look back at my experience at Jack N' Jill I remember at the time liking it, but it has been a few days and now I am completely underwhelmed and my food that I ordered was not memorable in the slightest since I am struggling to find great things about it. 

I ordered the Chili because hell a good chili is something that can warm the souls of the undead. The chili was thicker and better than the chili I had at Blue Plate but still it was more of a thin stew than a chili. I was looking for punch and heartiness. But I did get cheese, onions and sour cream on the side unlike at Blue Plate. I did not really understand the sour cream but once I put it in the chili I was pleasantly surprised. The chili on its own left me wanting, but adding some pepper, and the other accessories made it pop to a level of actual enjoyment. 

BBQ Chicken salad. Usually a safe bet and often times very enjoyable. I've overheard many people talk about how Jack N' Jill's has amazing salads. It was a great assortment of delicious veggies etc., but amazing it was not. It was a good salad by all means. It felt safe and generic though. It had what you wanted and in the amounts that you expected, but for the price of everything and the build up that I came in with, Jack N' Jill's  just did not live up to it. Final Bite: My hunt for amazing chili continues. Salad was good but I ruined the experience by listening to people hype it up. Will I go back? Most-likely but I will be getting a different salad. Suggestions are welcomed but don't say it's amazing.

Jack N' Jill

510 Santa Monica Blvd
Santa Monica, CA 90401
(310) 656-1501

Hugo 2 Brunch Wit?

Hugo's is a little place down the street that seems to be too fancy for its own good. The script on the name, the glass door, the rude hostesses, they all scream pretension. Screaming at you while you stand there on an early Saturday, half out of it and most likely still intoxicated. Oh brunch the things we endure. You evil temptress. 

Don't get me wrong it's a nice place and all. Definitely not one of my favorites i.e.: the menu contains something on it that I MUST eat and incessantly tell people about even though they could give two shits. But it is still a nice eatery. 

Today on the plate are two dishes, one un-expectant and executed perfectly, and the other...eh. First off the pumpkin pancakes are amazing. I have never had a pumpkin pancake in the past and I had no real desire to try the pumpkin pancake, but let me tell you something about the pumpkin pancake. It's amazing. It is hard to describe it correctly without making it sound like a pumpkin pie mistake that turned into some sort of amazing breakfast treat. All I can say is that it is done well, and if you like pancakes you will be pleasantly surprised. 

Now the Cuban sandwich. I had such high hopes for it. I was just whelmed at best. There were these cardboard like chips on the thing, I think they were sundried tomatoes, but it's been a minute since I actually ate this meal (last weekend) and I even if I just ate it I would forget about it the second I left. Sorry. The only good part about the sandwich was the blend of goat cheese and chicken in each bite. If and only if you did not get a cardboard chip. Not the hugest fan of constancy changes. I of course put Tabasco sauce on each bite, A: because I like Tabasco on everything 2: Figured it would deaden my taste buds when I was attached by cardboard. It did look great though.

Final Bite: Pass on the Cuban, ponder perhaps partaking in the perfectly prepared pumpkin pancake. I like alliteration .

Hugo's

8401 Santa Monica Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90069
(323) 654-3993

Would You Like Your Fingers Tender, Or Your Nacho's Irish?

Barney's again? Yes I went there again. Did I get the same items? No I am not completely devoid of common sense. Only partially. I figured I'd expand my palate and be worldly, chicken fingers and Irish Nachos should do it.

Let me tell you something about the chicken fingers, well they are pretty perfect. I am not going to lie to you, pretty damn perfect. Cooked and breaded perfectly and I really enjoy Barney's BBQ sauce. The sauce is tangy and a bit sweet but not too much, a great complement to the tender chicken. Also the honey mustard is tasty too, if you are into that kind of fancy shit.

My only gripe is that you do not get that many chicken tenders. Yes they are pretty decent size but 3, seriously? I mean at least 4, come on Barney's you charge $14 for a pitcher of beer. Crazy.

Irish Nachos, what the hell is an Irish Nacho you ask. Well it's like home fries but not crispy with a ton of cheese on it and chili and guac on the side. That's really it. It really couldn't be seen as a nacho. Its like homefries and cheese. Which would probably be better because I like my home fries thin and crispy. If it was more nacho like, I feel it might be better. Throw all the ingredients together like if it had tortilla chips on a plate and see what happens, maybe some black olives, possibly some jalapenos? Have the potatoes crispy also, then my friend you might have a tasty treat. But hell what do I know?

Final Bite: Chicken Tenders are tender and delicious, Irish Nachos can stay in Ireland or Mexico or wherever will have them.

Barney's Beanery
8447 Santa Monica Blvd
West Hollywood, CA 90069
323.654.2287

Miso Hungry, What About You?

Sushi is one of my favorite things in the world. I could probably eat it everyday if I could afford it, but in LA who can really afford to do anything everyday? The really good places give you too little and charge you too much and the cheap places quality is not that great. So finding a happy medium is hard. Especially when you have the ability to eat the equivalent of 18 hand cut rolls if you do not restrain yourself. 

A restaurant I really enjoy is in Santa Monica called, Sushi Mon, well it used to be called Sushi Mon. Like most sushi places it changes hands more than dollar bills at a strip club, or street corners, whatever you are into I guess. But the menu has stayed the same and they still have a good lunch special.

I am a huge fan of free and when its delicious also, that makes me smile extra big. At Sushi Mon you get a free bowl of Miso soup. It is mostly just broth but it is still really tasty and warms you up. And apparently per Dani a good bowl of Miso is the foundation for a good sushi spot.

Now on to the lunch special. You get 5 pieces of fresh delicious sushi and your choice of one other item off a huge selection. I usually get the sashimi salad. Now here's the rub. The old owners gave you a huge bowl with a huge amount of veggies and an even huger amount of fish. Possibly why they are no longer the owners. That's a lot of food to be giving away at a really low price. So the new bowl is as it appears below. Mind you it is not small by any means, but when you are used to almost not being able to finish to being only just satisfied its slightly upsetting. 

Final Bite: Sushi Mon or whatever it is called now is a great lunch place if you want sushi. Yes their portion size has fallen since they have changed hands, but it is still a very good value and the quality is top notch. And you wouldn't know that the sizes changed unless I told you if you've never been. I am sure you will be fine.

Sushi Mon
401 Santa Monica Blvd
Santa Monica, CA 90401
(310) 576-7011‎